How Desperate are the Housewives?

Fictionalized Series Television:
For my second media format I will be reviewing I will be discussing Fictionalized Series Television and how the portrayal of women differs between series. The issues I will be comparing range from the race, age, style, and class of the women from series to series. I will also be looking to see if the way each series addresses issues such as sexuality and how it differs from one another... on that same note, does the target audience affect how these issues are brought up and addressed.

In shows such as Hannah Montana, which airs on Disney Channel daily, there are not a lot of strong female characters. The main female character Hannah Montana, otherwise known as Miley, is ironically played by Miley Cyrus. Not only is her character young (only fifteen years old), Caucasian, and rich but so is she in real life. The show itself is about the double life of Miley and her family and friends. Miley is secretly pop star sensation Hannah Montana but no one really knows her secret besides her family and her two best friends. The drama that goes on throughout the half hour episodes rarely addresses any serious issues, and is always wrapped up in the one episode. Sometimes the drama is something that pertains more towards one side of Miley's life, occasionally the drama will be about one of her best friends or her family. Since this is a show geared specifically for children none of the female characters address issues such as sexuality, and if they do it's so subtle that as a viewer it is barely there. Compared to Zoey 101, which airs on Nickolodeon, Hannah Montana is more age appropriate for everyone. Zoey 101 is about a girl named Zoey, played by Jamie Lynn Spears, who goes away to a private school and everything that happens to her and her friends. The show deals with more controversial issues and blatantly shows teenagers dealing with relationships. This show mostly shows kids who are upper class; there is some diversity as far as race is concerned but not much. Since both of these shows are on networks specifically for children, all of the characters on these networks are between the ages of 11-18 years old. Nickelodeon however had some major controversy to deal with when Jamie Lynn, the star of Zoey 101, got pregnant at 16 years old. (Obviously contradicting their message of keeping relationships as pure and innocent as possible.)

After watching/ suffering through both of these shows I definitely decided the as far as children and tween networks are concerned sexuality is nonexistent. I think they try to instill in children that race, class, or age is not something to base judgments of people off of. They definitely need to think about expanding their representations of all these categories because there is not enough exposure of these multiple life styles.

For the more mature audiences, I decided to review Desperate Housewives. Desperate Housewives airs on ABC on Sunday evenings at 9/8c - stars Marcia Cross as Bree, Dana Delany as Katherine, Teri Hatcher as Susan, Felicity Huffman as Lynette, Eva Longoria Parker as Gabrielle, and Nicolette Sheridan as Edie. This is probably one of my favorite shows it's filled with juicy drama and intense plot twists. This is a show for mature audiences only due to: drug and alcohol use, sexual encounters, violence, and other various adult activities. Each one of the characters is unique and powerful in their own ways. There is not a very diverse representation of race, class, or age in this particular show. The woman are strictly upper class, middle aged women dealing with all the issues regular people deal but the drama is amped up a couple hundred notches. As the show has progressed the characters have all developed and changed in their own ways.

Marcia Cross's character Bree has came into her own over the past couple seasons. After losing a husband, and a lover, and gaining another she also managed to protect her daughter's image after an unexpected pregnancy, help her son deal with his sexuality, and open a successful catering company. During all the drama she also had to deal with her husband Orson going to prison, and battle her struggle with alcoholism. She is a perfectionist and can tend to be uptight, but at the end of the day she has the best intentions of her friends and family in mind. Bree is not the most open minded woman on the show, however; she is slowly learning that having an open mind is in her best interest if she wants things to work out for her in the long run. She is an extremely sensual woman and is comfortable with her sexuality. Although she is comfortable with her sexuality she knows that it is in her best interest to keep it within the home. Over time I believe audiences will realize that this powerful woman is also a very vulnerable one; sometimes even the perfectionist needs some help and encouragement with the everyday bullshit.

Dana Delany's character Katherine is a somewhat new character to the show. With her dark background she likes to make sure to keep her personal life as private as possible. She's a classy woman but doesn't always know how to act like it. With her daughter gone and with a lack of love life, Katherine has become increasingly lonely. She's a loyal friend and knows when it is time for her to step in and get involved when other people need the help but just don't know how to ask for it. She helped Bree battle her alcoholism and became a partner for her catering company. She's a woman who is bursting with confidence and is dying for a love life. Luckily for her after some not so good hook-ups, Katherine is now seeing Susan's ex husband Mike. Her new found love life has given her a sense of self empowerment through her sexuality. Now she needs to learn when to draw the line between her head and her heart. Should she keep seeing Mike and enjoy herself, or stop things before they get overly developed because it's her friend's ex husband... who is she willing to lose, a friend or a lover?

Teri Hatcher's character Susan is ridiculous and a little on the promiscuous side. Already married and divorced twice, along with her multiple lovers, Susan is definitely the kind of woman who always needs a man by her side. Susan is a great character because she constantly mixes up her everyday roles. For whatever reason she never seems to know when to step into her different roles; whether it’s with her kids or with her lovers or even with her friends Susan's conflicting roles and unintentional slips is what makes her so lovable in the long run. Susan uses her sexuality to her advantage as much as humanly possible. She knows when and where to play her cards to get her exactly what she wants when she wants it. But unlike some other characters Susan is definitely not slutty by any means she is just a woman who knows what she wants and knows just how to get it. With her current situation of just getting divorced from Mike, with a four year old son, her older daughter away at college, and an artistic new lover Susan definitely has her hands full.

Felicity Huffman's character Lynette is the most independent woman on the show by all means. She went from the bread winner for her family, to the supportive housewife, to having cancer, learning of her husband’s illegitimate child, and starting a new business. She is certainly a very busy woman. She struggles with feeling like she doesn't do enough and that she isn't enough to keep her family content. She learns through every episode that as life changes and throws new things your way, you run with them. Everything happens for a reason and she makes sure that she is on top of things as she possibly can be. There isn't a thing this woman couldn't do. She is honest and up front with her feelings and her insecurity. Unlike the other characters Lynette's love life is barely in the cards anymore these days, but her sexuality is something that I believe in the future she will definitely start using to her advantage. Even if it's just on a one on one basis with her husband she will realize that if she doesn't make the effort to keep the love flowing no one else will. With her husband's mid-life crisis, her son's affair with an older woman, running a business, and trying to be a good friend... will Lynette realize that she needs to stop worrying about everyone else and start worrying about herself? Will things fall in place eventually or do they have to completely fall apart first?

Eva Longoria Parker's character Gabrielle is probably the character that has changed the most over the length of the show's history. She went from diva extraordinaire, with a fabulous life and a wonderful husband, to eventually a housewife and nothing more. Her greed sometimes still over shadows her good intentions and throughout the last couple episodes Gabbie has seriously jeopardized her family's future. She always means well, but she tends to always have her needs before anyone else. With her blunt attitude she put her (blind) husband's job in the hands of a crazy angry millionaire widow, and with two kids and no job of her own has she finally taken things too far? If so when will she realize it, and who will get her in line before things are unable to be fixed.

The last and final main female role on Wisteria Lane is Nicolette Sheridan as Edie. Edie is a real estate agent who loves more than just real estate. Known around as the woman who gets around Edie is the take it or leave it type of woman. As an audience member you either love her or absolutely hate her. Her ignorance and lack of self esteem makes her the type of woman who easily gets bored. She too has had her fair share of drama. With several ex husbands and a son of her own, Edie has finally come into a good place in her life. With her career continuing to sky rocket and a new husband Edie thinks that life is finally good again. No drama with the neighborhood women and no secrets of her own, Edie seems to be gliding through episode to episode. Little does she know her new husband has some secrets of his own. And given the neighborhood someone is bound to find out something sooner than he is expecting. As a viewer should we be worried for Edie's safety? Or will she come out on top....

As you can tell each character plays their own part on Wisteria Lane. Each one is unique and entertaining in their own ways. No one woman really over powers the rest, like the circle of life they all live and feed off each other. Without one the circle would self destruct, and one by one each character will unintentionally lead themselves to their own demise. Their sexuality is a key ingredient as to what makes the housewives so desperate. But the real question is how desperate are they? This show could probably use a little more diversity as far as race, and class are concerned. But personally I think if the writers changed the dynamics of the show it wouldn't be the same... the point of Wisteria Lane is to convey some sort of unconventional Stepford reality. It can't get much juicier than that.